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Dance

The Dance program focuses on technique, creativity, composition, and performance. In the Middle School, students are exposed to the elements of dance: space, time, and effort through creative movement exercises. In addition, students learn basic technique in the modern, jazz, and ballet disciplines. In the Upper School, the dance classes are leveled to allow students to continue to hone their technique and develop their personal performance style. In addition, they are exposed to more complex improvisation structures that lead to student choreography.

This course is the study of dance at the introductory level. Students are introduced to several different styles including modern technique, jazz technique, ballet technique, and hip-hop. The course includes proper warm-up, alignment, center work, traveling sequences, and choreography. In addition, there is an introduction to the history of the different dance styles. Over the course of the semester, each student focuses on improving body alignment, flexibility, strength, confidence, balance, and coordination. Students are to develop proper dance performance skills including musicality, rhythmic clarity, dynamic phrasing, usage of breath, and spatial projection.

Students must have taken the introductory Dance as an Art, been involved in the Middle School dance program, or demonstrate proficiency in at least one of the dance styles via an audition.

This course is the study of dance at the Intermediate/Advanced level. Students continue to hone their technique at a more advanced level in the modern, jazz, ballet, and hip- hop styles. The course includes proper warm-up, alignment, more complex center combinations, traveling sequences, and choreography. In addition, students delve deeper into the history of the different dance styles. Over the course of the semester, each student focuses on improving body alignment, flexibility, strength, confidence, balance, and coordination. Students continue to develop proper dance performance skills including musicality, rhythmic clarity, dynamic phrasing, usage of breath, and spatial projection on a more advanced level. As they continue to develop and explore their own personal style within each dance style, more complex improvisational structures are introduced resulting in small choreographic studies.

This course will be the study of the three elements of Musical Theatre, singing, acting, and dancing, in an advanced, highly focused, studio setting. Students will work on vocal technique in the musical theatre style, will learn how to approach songs and scene from an acting perspective, and will be introduced to basic musical theatre dance technique. Over the course of the year, each student will use these skills for both duet/small group selections as well as full ensemble pieces. Students are to develop strong performance skills and are encouraged to explore their own personal styles within the musical theatre genre. In addition, students will be exposed to basic musical theatre history.